System, method, and apparatus for triggering an alarm

ABSTRACT

According to some example embodiments, systems, apparatus, methods and computer program products are provided for triggering an alarm. In this regard, one example apparatus includes means for receiving an instruction to alarm a security gate device, and means for tuning a security resonator at a location such that a field generated by the security gate device interacts with the security resonator to cause the security gate device to trigger an alarm in response to at least receiving the instruction to alarm the security gate device.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/892,498, filed on Sep. 28, 2010 entitled “System, Method,and Apparatus for Triggering an Alarm,” which issued as U.S. Pat. No.7,994,911 on Aug. 9, 2011, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/246,393, filed Sep. 28, 2009, titled “Systems,Methods, And Apparatuses For Managing Configurable Monitoring Devices.”The contents of Application No. 61/246,393, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,994,911are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present invention relate generally to theftdeterrent technology and, more particularly, relate to triggering one ormore alarms.

BACKGROUND

Retailers and business owners can suffer substantial financial losses asa result of retail theft. It is becoming increasingly common forshoplifters and thieves to implement organized and coordinated plansinvolving multiple individuals to steal large amounts of high pricedgoods from retail and other establishments. To protect against suchlosses, store owners have installed various systems that operate todeter theft through the use of alarms and other deterrent mechanisms.However, as thieves become more sophisticated, theft deterrent systemsmay be circumvented by new techniques and equipment used by would-bethieves. As such, the technology used for theft deterrence must continueto evolve to meet and exceed the continually evolving sophistication oftheft techniques, and in particular, organized theft techniques.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Some example embodiments of the present invention are therefore providedthat support product security system functionality. In this regard, oneexample embodiment is a method. The example method may include receivingan instruction to alarm a security gate device, and, in response to atleast receiving the instruction to alarm the security gate device,tuning a security resonator at a location such that a field generated bythe security gate device interacts with the security resonator to causethe security gate device to trigger an alarm.

Another example embodiment is an apparatus. The example apparatus mayinclude a processor. The processor may be configured to receive aninstruction to alarm a security gate device, and, in response to atleast receiving the instruction to alarm the security gate device, tunea security resonator at a location such that a field generated by thesecurity gate device interacts with the security resonator to cause thesecurity gate device to trigger an alarm.

Yet another example embodiment is a computer readable medium, such as anon-transitory computer readable memory. The computer readable mediummay include, or for example store, executable instructions configured todirect a processor to perform particular functionality. In this regard,the executable instructions may be configured to direct the processor toreceive an instruction to alarm a security gate device, and, in responseto at least receiving the instruction to alarm the security gate device,tune a security resonator at a location such that a field generated bythe security gate device interacts with the security resonator to causethe security gate device to trigger an alarm.

Another example embodiment is an apparatus. The example apparatus mayinclude means for receiving an instruction to alarm a security gatedevice, and means for tuning a security resonator at a location suchthat a field generated by the security gate device interacts with thesecurity resonator to cause the security gate device to trigger an alarmin response to at least receiving the instruction to alarm the securitygate device.

Additionally, another example embodiments of the present invention maybe yet another example method. The example method may include receivinga ping signal and determining that the ping signal originated from agate node. In this regard, the gate node may control a tunable securityresonator that may be positioned within a field generated by a securitygate device. The example method may further include directing atransmitter to transmit a status signal to a network indicating that amonitoring device is within a field generated by the gate node.

An example apparatus may include a processor. The processor may beconfigured to perform receiving a ping signal and determining that theping signal originated from a gate node. In this regard, the gate nodemay control a tunable security resonator that may be positioned within afield generated by a security gate device. The processor may be furtherconfigured to perform directing a transmitter to transmit a statussignal to a network indicating that a monitoring device is within afield generated by the gate node.

Yet another example embodiment is a computer readable medium, such as anon-transitory computer readable memory. The computer readable mediummay include, or for example store, executable instructions configured todirect a processor to perform particular functionality. In this regard,the executable instructions may be configured to direct the processor toperform receiving a ping signal and determining that the ping signaloriginated from a gate node. In this regard, the gate node may control atunable security resonator that may be positioned within a fieldgenerated by a security gate device. The instructions may be furtherconfigured to direct the processor to perform directing a transmitter totransmit a status signal to a network indicating that a monitoringdevice is within a field generated by the gate node.

Another example embodiment may be an apparatus. The example apparatusmay include means for receiving a ping signal and means for determiningthat the ping signal originated from a gate node. In this regard, thegate node may control a tunable security resonator that may bepositioned within a field generated by a security gate device. Theexample apparatus may further include means for directing a transmitterto transmit a status signal to a network indicating that a monitoringdevice is within a field generated by the gate node.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described the various example embodiments of the inventionin general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanyingdrawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an example layout of an exit or other security protected areaand various devices for implementing some example embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 a signaling diagram/flow chart of some example method embodimentsof the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a network according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example server that is specifically configured forperforming functionality according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example monitoring device that is specificallyconfigured for performing functionality according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example gate node that is specifically configuredfor performing functionality according to an example embodiment; and

FIG. 7 illustrates an example security resonator according to variousexample embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some embodiments of the present invention will now be described morefully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichsome, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed,various embodiments of the invention may be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like referencenumerals refer to like elements throughout.

As defined herein a “computer-readable medium” may encompass bothtransitory and non-transitory media. However, a “computer-readablestorage medium” refers to a non-transitory medium, such as for example,a memory device, while a “computer-readable transmission medium” refersto transitory medium, such as, for example, propagating electromagneticsignals. Additionally, as used herein, the term “circuitry” refers tonot only hardware-only circuit implementations including analog and/ordigital circuitry, but at least also to combinations of hardware withcorresponding software and/or instructions stored on a computer-readablestorage medium.

Various example embodiments of the present invention may operate, and/ormay be configured, to trigger an alarming function of a gate device(also referred to as a security gate device). A gate device may be anelectronic article surveillance (EAS) gate that may be used near theentrance or exit of retail environment. Referring to FIG. 1, gate device100 (which is comprised of two posts or gates) is illustrated as beingpositioned on either side of an exit. The gate device 100 may beconfigured to alarm when an security resonator (e.g., a radio frequencyresonant circuit or device, an acousto-magnetic resonant circuit ordevice, a magnetic resonant circuit, or the like) is detected within agate device field 102 (e.g., an electromagnetic field) generated by thegate device 100. In this regard, the gate device field 102 may beconfigured to excite and energize a security resonator circuit and causethe security resonator to transmit a response (for example, via passivebackscatter techniques) that is detected by the gate device 100. Thegate device 100 may be therefore configured to detect to presence of thesecurity resonator within the gate device field 102 and respond by, forexample, sounding an alarm controlled by the gate device 100.Additionally, in some example embodiments, tuning the security resonatormay include modifying a characteristic of an element (e.g., a capacitor,resistor, inductor, or the like) to thereby to the security resonator toa desired frequency that triggers the alarm of the gate device. In otherwords, a circuit that is out-of-tune with gate device may be broughtinto tune with the gate device or vice versa.

According to various example embodiments, a gate node 104 may be adevice that includes a tunable security resonator and may be positionedat a fixed location within the gate device field 102. The gate node 104may be configured to tune the security resonator to a frequency that thegate device 100 is configured to detect to permit triggering of thealarm controlled by the gate device 100. According to some exampleembodiments, tuning a security resonator may include closing or openinga switching device electrically connected between a coil and acapacitor. See FIG. 6 which is described in further detail below. Viacontrol of the switching device, the security resonator may be tuned bythe gate node 104 such that the presence of the security resonatorwithin the gate device field 102 causes, or does not cause, the gatedevice 100 to trigger the alarm. In this manner, the gate node 104 maybe configured to control the alarming functionality of the gate device100, by tuning or de-tuning the security resonator.

According to various example embodiments, the gate node 104 may alsogenerate a field, which is referred to as the gate node field 106. Thebounds of the gate node field 106 may be defined by a communicationrange of a ping signal (or beacon signal) transmitted by the gate node104. In this regard, the gate node 104 may be configured to transmit aping signal to a defined area, by for example tailoring the signalstrength of the ping signal to cover a particular area of the retailenvironment (e.g., the area near an exit or other area of the retailenvironment). The ping signal may include a unique identifier of thegate node 104, and the ping signal may be transmitted repeatedly,possibly at a regular interval such as every 2 seconds. The ping signalof the gate node 104 may be configured for reception by a monitoringdevice 108. According to various example embodiments, the monitoringdevice 108 may be configured to wirelessly receive the ping signaldirectly from the gate node 104, without, for example, involving thecommunications infrastructure of the network 30 (e.g., routers 65 andthe coordinator 64 as depicted in FIG. 3). An example of a monitoringdevice is described in U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.12/628,863, filed Dec. 1, 2009, entitled “Configurable MonitoringDevice;” and U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.12/887,228, filed Sep. 21, 2010, entitled “Retail Product TrackingSystem, Method, and Apparatus;” the contents of which are both herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

The monitoring device 108 may be a mobile unit configured to supportsecurity, as well as, marketing, inventory, and other functionalities ina retail environment via the monitoring device's capability to conductwireless communications via a network 30. The monitoring device 108 maybe affixed to an article, such as a high priced product that is for salewithin the retail environment. According to some example embodiments,the monitoring device 108 may not include a security resonator, and assuch, may not be unilaterally capable of triggering the alarm controlledby the gate device 100 when the monitoring device 108 moves into thegate device field 102. However, the monitoring device 108 may beconfigured to receive the ping signal from the gate node 104 when themonitoring device 108 moves within the gate node field 106.

Referring to the signaling diagram of FIG. 2, the monitoring device 108may be configured to receive the ping signal transmitted by the gatenode 104 at 300, when the monitoring device 108 moves within the gatenode field 106. After receiving the ping signal from the gate node 104,the monitoring device 108 may be configured to wirelessly transmit astatus signal at 310 to a server 63 via a network 30 (described in moredetail with reference to FIG. 3). According to some example embodiments,when awake and commissioned, the monitoring device 108 may be configuredto transmit status signals, possibly at regular intervals, with anindication of the one or more devices that the monitoring device 108 iscurrently receiving ping signals from. According to various exampleembodiments, both the monitoring terminal 108 and the gate node 104 maybe connected to the network 30, but the gate device 100 may not beconnected to the network 30. The status signal transmitted by themonitoring device 108 at 310 may indicate to the server 63 that themonitoring device 108 is receiving a ping signal from within the gatenode field 106. According to some example embodiments, the server 63 mayprovide an acknowledgement of receipt of the status signal at 315 to themonitoring device 108. In response to determining that the monitoringdevice 108 is within the gate node field 106, the server 63 may beconfigured to transmit, via the network 30, a gate node alarminstruction signal to the gate node 104 at 320. In response to receivingthe gate node alarm instruction signal, the gate node 104 may beconfigured to tune the security resonator to cause the gate device 100to trigger an alarm controlled by the gate device 100. As a result,according to various example embodiments, the presence of the monitoringdevice 108 within the gate node field 106 may cause the alarm controlledby the gate device 100 to be triggered, when the gate device 100 is notconfigured to communicate via the network 30 and the and the monitoringdevice 108 does not include a security resonator. According to someexample embodiments, the monitoring device 108 may be configured to senda message to the gate node directly to cause tuning of the securityresonator. This message may be received as an alarm instruction, but maybe, for example, a status signal that is transmitted by the monitoringdevice and received by the gate node 104.

Additionally, upon receiving the ping signal at 300, the monitoringdevice 108 may be configured to analyze the unique identifier includedin the ping signal. In this regard, prior to and/or independent ofreceiving any type of communication from the network 30, the monitoringdevice 108 may be configured to determine that the ping signaloriginated from a gate node. For example, in some example embodiments,the ping signal may include a device descriptor which may indicate thatthe ping signal originated from a gate node. In response to determiningthat the ping signal originated from a gate node, the monitoring device108 may be configured to trigger an alarm that is local to themonitoring device 108 (e.g., alarm 42 of FIG. 5) at 305 of FIG. 2. Inthis regard, prior to and/or independent of receiving any type ofcommunication from the network 30, the monitoring device 108 may beconfigured to determine that the received ping signal originated from agate node and trigger the local alarm. According to various exampleembodiments, by providing for this independent local alarm triggeringfunctionality, even in scenarios when the network 30 and the server 63are not in service (e.g., due to loss of power to the retail store), analarm will still sound when a monitoring device 108 enters gate nodefield 106 because both the monitoring device 108 and the hardware of thegate node 104 configured to provide the ping signal may be batterypowered.

Further, according to some example embodiments, the gate node 104 mayalso be leveraged for gate device testing and calibration purposes. Inthis regard, since the server 63 can remotely control the tuning of thesecurity resonator, a gate node 104 may be placed at various or multiplelocations proximate to the gate device 100 for testing and calibratingthe field generation and range of the gate device 100. For example, agate node may be placed at a location that is expected to be outside thethreshold range of the gate device 100. The gate node 104 may then berequested to tune the security resonator to trigger the gate device'salarm to determine the actual range of the field of the gate device.Based on the results, the field of the gate device 100 may be calibratedaccordingly.

According to some example embodiments, the functionality associated withthe gate node may be separated between to two or more devices. In thisregard, one device may be configured to send a ping signal with anidentifier and/or device type that indicates that this device isassociated with a gate node. A second device may be configured toreceive the gate node alarm instruction signal from the server 63 andrespond by tuning the security resonator located in the field of thegate device 100. In this manner, since the device that transmits theping signal and the device that controls the security resonator areseparated, the device that transmits the ping signal may be located atany location and still be involved in causing the gate device 100 totrigger the alarm. For example, the device that transmits the pingsignal may be located outside the gate device field 102, while thecontrollable security resonator may be located within the gate devicefield 102.

FIGS. 3-7 provide detailed descriptions of some example architectures ofsystems and devices that are configured to perform the functionalitydescribed with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, and otherwise herein. One ofskill in the art would appreciate that the descriptions of FIGS. 3-7 aredirected to example architectures and configurations and that equivalentalternative structures configured to perform the same functionality arealso contemplated.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example embodiment of a network 30, which maycomprise a network entity 62, at least one ping node 66, at least onegate node 104, and at least one monitoring device 108. The networkentity 62 may comprise the server 63, a coordinator 64, and at least onerouter 65. The server 63 may be configured to manage, control, and/orlog the operation of the entities connected to the network 30. Theserver's connection to the network 30 may be provided via thecoordinator 64. The coordinator 64 may be configured to routecommunications to and from the server 63 and amongst the routers 65, asneeded. In the depicted example embodiment, multiple routers 65communicate with the coordinator 64. The routers 65 may be configured toreceive signals from the monitoring devices 108 and communicate thatsignal, or a modified version of that signal, to the coordinator 64 andthe server 63. The routers 65 and coordinator 64 may include radiotransmitters/receivers for sending and receiving wireless signals andmay embody the communications infrastructure of the network 30. Thecommunications connections amongst the routers 65 and between thecoordinator 64 may be wired or wireless connections. Additionally, insome example embodiments, the coordinator 64 may be connected to theserver 63 via a wired connection, which may support higher speeds andbandwidth relative to other wireless communications connections withinthe network 30.

The ping nodes 66 (also referred to as locators) may be placedthroughout an environment, such as a commercial or retail environment,at designated positions to track the presence of monitoring devices 108within areas associated with the positions of the ping nodes 66. Theping nodes 66 may be configured to transmit ping signals. As such, basedon the foregoing description of the gate node 104, the gate node 104 mayinclude ping node functionality. As mobile devices, the monitoringdevices 108 may move throughout the environment and receive the pingsignals transmitted from the ping nodes 66 and gate nodes 104. Whenactive and commissioned, the monitoring devices 108 may be configured towirelessly transmit status signals indicating the ping nodes and gatenodes from which the monitoring devices 108 are currently receiving pingsignals and thereby report the identities of the ping nodes (and gatenodes) to the server 63 via the routers 65 and coordinator 64.

According to some example embodiments, the network entity 62 comprises aserver 63. The server 63, with reference to FIG. 4, may comprise aprocessor 20, a communication interface 22, a memory device 27, and anetwork manager 24.

In an example embodiment, the processor 20 may be configured (e.g., viaexecution of stored instructions or operation in accordance withprogrammed instructions) to control the operation of the server 63. Theprocessor 20 may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example,the processor 20 may be embodied as a hardware device including one ormore of various hardware processing means or devices such as acoprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor(DSP), a processing element with or without an accompanying DSP, orvarious other processing devices including integrated circuits such as,for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA(field programmable gate array), a microcontroller unit (MCU), ahardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. Inan example embodiment, the processor 20 may be configured to executeinstructions stored in a memory device (e.g., memory device 27 of FIG.4) or otherwise accessible to the processor 20. The instructions may bepermanent or non-volatile (e.g., firmware) or modifiable (e.g.,software) instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the processor 20may be hardware configured to execute functionality, for example whenembodied as an ASIC. As such, whether configured by hardware or softwaremethods, or by a combination thereof, the processor 20 may represent anentity and means (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry) capable ofperforming operations according to embodiments of the present inventionwhile configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when the processor 20is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processor 20 may bespecifically configured hardware for conducting the operations describedherein. Alternatively, as another example, when the processor 20 isembodied as a hardware executor of software or firmware instructions,the instructions may specifically configure the processor 20 to performthe algorithms and/or operations described herein when the instructionsare executed. The processor 20 may include, among other things, a clock,an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and logic gates configured to supportoperation of the processor 20.

The memory device 27 may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memorydevice 27 may be a non-transitory electronic storage device (e.g., acomputer-readable storage medium) comprising gates (e.g., logic gates)configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by amachine (e.g., a computing device including a processor such asprocessor 20). The memory device 27 may be configured to storeinformation, data, applications, instructions or the like for enablingthe server 63 to carry out various functions in accordance with exampleembodiments. For example, the memory device 27 may be configured tobuffer input data for processing by the processor 20. Additionally oralternatively, the memory device 27 may be configured to storeinstructions for execution by the processor 20.

The communication interface 22 may be any means such as a hardwaredevice or circuitry embodied in either hardware, or a combination ofhardware and software that is configured to receive and/or transmit datafrom/to a network and/or any other device or module in communicationwith the server 63. In some example embodiments, the coordinator 64 maybe considered an extension of the communication interface 22 to permitcommunication to various network entities. As such, the configurationand components of the communications interface 22 may be included in theserver 63 and/or in the coordinator 64 to provide for networkcommunications. The communication interface 22 may include, for example,an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and/orsoftware for enabling communications with a communication network 30 orother devices (e.g., a monitoring device 108). In some environments, thecommunication interface 22 may alternatively or additionally supportwired communication. As such, for example, the communication interface22 may include a communication modem and/or other hardware/software forsupporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL),universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms. In an exemplaryembodiment, the communication interface 22 may support communication viaone or more different communication protocols or methods. In some cases,IEEE 802.15.4 based communication techniques such as ZigBee or other lowpower, short range communication protocols, such as proprietarytechniques based on IEEE 802.15.4 may be employed with or without radiofrequency identification (RFID) or other short range communicationtechniques. In other embodiments, communication protocols based on IEEE802.15.4a standards may also be established.

Some embodiments of the server 63 may include a user interface 21, suchas an input/output device, for receiving instructions directly from auser. The user interface 21 may be in communication with the processor20 to receive user input via the user interface 21 and/or to presentoutput to a user as, for example, audible, visual, mechanical or otheroutput indications. The user interface 21 may include, for example, akeyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a display (e.g., a touch screen display),a microphone, a speaker, or other input/output mechanisms. Further, theprocessor 20 may comprise, or be in communication with, user interfacecircuitry configured to control at least some functions of one or moreelements of the user interface. The processor 20 and/or user interfacecircuitry may be configured to control one or more functions of one ormore elements of the user interface through computer programinstructions (e.g., software and/or firmware) stored on a memory deviceaccessible to the processor 20 (e.g., volatile memory, non-volatilememory, and/or the like). In some example embodiments, the userinterface circuitry is configured to facilitate user control of at leastsome functions of the server 63 through the use of a display configuredto respond to user inputs. The processor 20 may also comprise, or be incommunication with, display circuitry configured to display at least aportion of a user interface, the display and the display circuitryconfigured to facilitate user control of at least some functions of theserver 63. According to various example embodiments, the user interface21 may be local to the server 63 or remote from the server 63 andconnected to the server 63 via the communications interface 22. In thisregard, in some example embodiments, the user interface 21 may be theuser interface of a computer that is connected to the server 63 via theInternet or another network to provide for remote interaction with thefunctionality of the network 30.

The network manager 24 may be configured to manage and direct theprocessor 20 to perform functions consistent with the variousfunctionalities of the system and network 30. As indicated above, theprocessor 20 of an example embodiment may be embodied as, include orotherwise control, the network manager 24. The network manager 24 may beimplemented by any means, such as a device or circuitry operating inaccordance with firmware/software or otherwise embodied in hardware or acombination of hardware and firmware/software (e.g., processor 20operating under software control, the processor 20 embodied as an ASICor FPGA specifically configured to perform the operations describedherein, or a combination thereof), thereby configuring the device orcircuitry to perform the corresponding functions of the network manager24, as described herein. Thus, in examples in which software isemployed, a device or circuitry (e.g., the processor 20 in one example)executing the software forms a structure associated with such means.

According to some example embodiments, the network manager 24, with thecommunications interface, may support wireless bootloading. As such, forexample, the network manager 24 may be configured to determine and/orcontrol the configuration and thereby also the operation of the server63 based on the current situation as determined by the server 63 orbased on the instructions received by the network manager 24.

Further, the network manager 24 may be configured to cause the server 63to perform the functionalities described with respect to the server 63in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this regard, the network manager 63 may beconfigured to receive a status signal from a monitoring device 108, andin some example embodiments cause the server 63 to transmit anacknowledgement signal to the monitoring device. The network manager 24may be configured to analyze the received status signal to determinewhether the monitoring device 108 from which the status signal wasreceived is located within a gate node field. If the monitoring device108 is located within a gate node field, as indicated by the statussignal, the network manager 24 may be configured to cause the server 63to transmit a gate node alarm instruction signal, to thereby cause thegate node to tune the gate node's security resonator and trigger thealarm controlled by the gate device.

As mentioned above, and referring again to FIG. 3, the ping nodes 66 maybe placed throughout a commercial environment and can be leveraged todetermine a location of a monitoring device 108. According to someexample embodiments, the hardware and configuration of a ping node maybe included in a gate node, but the gate node may include additionalhardware and functionalities as described herein. The ping nodes 66 maybe configured to transmit ping signals, which may include ping nodelocation data. The ping node location data may include a uniqueidentifier of the ping node, such as a number or other unique indicatorthat corresponds to that specific ping node 66. In other embodiments,the ping node location data could include local coordinates or othersimilar data that may be used by the network to identify the location ofa transmitting ping node. Ping nodes 66 may comprise antennas and radiotransmitters for sending signals. In some embodiments, ping nodes 66 mayhave a tailored or specifically configured transmission signal strengthso as to define the area which their ping signal can be received by themonitoring devices 108. Accordingly, the ping nodes 66 may be useful inlocating monitoring devices 108 and other similar area-based features ofthe network 30.

Descriptions of example embodiments of ping nodes, and associatednetwork systems, are provided in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.61/246,393, filed Sep. 28, 2009, entitled “Systems, Methods andApparatuses for Managing Configurable Monitoring Devices;” U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/248,196, filed Oct. 2, 2009,entitled “Systems, Methods and Apparatuses for Locating ConfigurableMonitoring Devices;” U.S. Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No.12/636,564, filed Dec. 11, 2009, entitled “Systems, Methods, andApparatuses for Managing Configurable Monitoring Devices;” and U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 12/887,228, filed Sep. 21,2010, entitled “Retail Product Tracking System, Method, and Apparatus;”the contents of which are all hereby incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

Ping nodes 66 may be involved in the frequent transmission ofcommunications and therefore power utilization of a ping node 66 may berelatively high. While ping nodes 66 may be battery powered, in someexample embodiments, ping nodes 66 may be powered through a building'swired power system. In this regard, routers 65 may also be configured toperform the function of a ping node 66. In some embodiments, ping nodesmay utilize a battery.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example configuration of a monitoring device 108.A monitoring device 108 may be attached to, for example, retail articlesand thus may travel throughout the retail environment as customers orservice personnel carry articles throughout the retail environment. Themonitoring device 108 may be configured to receive ping signals and acorresponding ping node or gate node identifier from a nearby ping node66 or gate node 104, respectively. The monitoring device 108 may also beconfigured to transmit a status signal identifying the ping or gate nodeto, for example, the server 63. The server 63 may then take action withrespect to the received status signal as described herein.

The monitoring device 108, which may also be referred to as a tag, maycomprise a processor 28, a radio transmitter/receiver 46, an alarm 42, abattery 40 (e.g., to power the components of the monitoring device 108),a sensor 50, and an alarm manager 54. In some embodiments, themonitoring device 108 may include a memory device 44 and/or ainput/output device 29. Further, in some embodiments, the monitoringdevice 108 may include a mounting device 52 for attaching the monitoringdevice 108 to an article, such as a retail product.

The processor 28 may act in accordance with a protocol and receiveindications from components of the monitoring device 108. The processor28 may be structurally the same or similar to the processor 20 asdescribed with respect to the server 63 of FIG. 4, however configureddifferently based on, for example, the instructions provided by thememory device 44 or the processor 28 hardware configuration as, forexample, and ASIC, to cause the monitoring device 108 to perform therespective functionality described herein. In some embodiments, themonitoring device 108 may comprise a battery 40, and, for example, a lowpower processor 28 may be more desirable to conserve battery life.

The processor 28 may also include an input/output (I/O) 29, which mayinclude ports (or pins). According to some example embodiments, the I/O29 may be configured to interface with any number of external devicessuch as, electronic security devices, tamper detection components,merchandising displays, equipment tags, employee identification cards,audio signal emitting devices (including alarms, speakers, piezobuzzers, etc,), microphones, lights (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)including dual-color LEDs), buttons, keypads, monitors, displays thatpresent human-readable information (e.g., for changeable pricinglabels), sensors (e.g., accelerometers, movement sensors (e.g., jiggleswitch), light sensors, temperature sensors), cameras, camera controls(e.g., configured to forward still pictures), security gates, storeaudio systems, customer counters, lighting switches, employeecommunicators (e.g., headsets, handheld radios), door strike mats,jewelry case mats, Lojack® devices, global positioning system (GPS)devices, barcode scanners, RFID readers, loyalty card scanners,communications hardware (e.g., USB hardware, Ethernet hardware, RS232hardware), node devices, network entities (examples of which arediscussed herein), and the like. As such, the I/O 29 may be configuredto support various functionality that the monitoring device may beconfigured to perform. For example, an I/O pin or port that isconfigured to interface with a light sensor may be used to determinewhether a protected article has been placed under a coat or otherwiseconcealed. As another example, an I\O pin or port may interface with anLED to cause the LED to flash at a regular interval to provide a visualindication of the status of the monitoring device and operate as adeterrent to would-be thieves. For yet another example, an I\O pin orport may be configured to interface with a piezo buzzer or other audiodevice to emit various audible tones by the processor 28. According tovarious example embodiments, actuation of the jiggle switch sensor anddetection of the actuation by the I/O may be a trigger event, which mayhave a corresponding event indication signal, for the monitoring deviceto transition a commissioned monitoring device from a sleep state (e.g.,which may be a low power mode) to an active awake state (e.g., toprovide status signals).

The memory device 44 may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories and may be structurally the same or similarto the memory device 27 of the server 63. In this regard, instructionsstored on the memory device 44 may be specifically tailored to directthe operation of the monitoring device 108 via the processor 28. Asindicated above with respect to the processor 28, the monitoring device108 may be battery operated and thus a low power consuming memory device44 may be more desirable. The memory device 44 may be an electronicstorage device (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium) comprisinggates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by amachine (e.g., a computing device including a processor such asprocessor 28). The memory device 44 may be configured to storeinformation, data, applications, instructions or the like, which can beorganized in any manner (including as various types of functionalityprofiles), that enable the monitoring device 108 to carry out variousfunctions in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention. For example, the memory device 44 may be configured to bufferinput data for processing by the processor 28. Additionally oralternatively, the memory device 44 may be configured to storeinstructions for execution by the processor 28.

The communications interface 48 may be any means such as a device orcircuitry embodied in either hardware, or a combination of hardware andsoftware that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to anetwork and/or any other device or module in wire or wirelesscommunication with monitoring device 108. Communications interface 48may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) andsupporting hardware and/or software for enabling communications withnetwork 30 or other devices. Additionally, to support networkcommunications, the communications interface 48 may support theimplementation of a system-wide synchronized clock. Synchronization ofthe clock may be maintained via a clock signal. Monitoring devices mayinclude real time clock circuitry to support the synchronized clock andto regulate the use of precise communications windows. Additionally oralternatively, the communications interface 48 may include anunsynchronized clock.

In an example embodiment, the communications interface 48 may supportcommunication via one or more different communication protocols ormethods. In some embodiments, the communications interface 48 may beconfigured to support relatively low power, which may yield a relativelysmall communication proximity area. As such, for example, a low powerand short range communication radio (e.g., radio transmitter/receiver46) may be included in the communication interface 48. In some examples,the radio transmitter/receiver 46 may include a transmitter andcorresponding receiver configured to support radio frequency (RF)communication in accordance with an IEEE (Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers) communication standards such as IEEE 802.15 orIEEE 802.15.4a, which may yield a relatively larger communicationproximity area. For example, some embodiments may employ Bluetooth,Wibree, ultra-wideband (UWB), WirelessHART, MiWi or other communicationstandards employing relatively short range wireless communication in anetwork such as a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In some cases,IEEE 802.15.4 or 4a based communication techniques, ZigBee, or other lowpower, short range communication protocols such as a proprietarytechnique based on IEEE 802.15.4 may be employed. According to someexample embodiments, the communications interface 48 may be configuredto support an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPV6) stack. Thecommunications interface 48 may also support a Route Under MAC (MediaAccess Control) (RUM) protocol or a modified RUM protocol. Regardless ofthe protocol, the communications interface 48 may be configured toutilize a network identifier or network key, for example stored in thememory device 44, such as a personal area network (PAN) identifier. Insome example embodiments, a monitoring device might not be permitted tocommunicate within the monitoring system without using a matchingnetwork identifier or key.

The sensor 50 may be any type of sensor, but in some exampleembodiments, the sensor is a jiggle switch configured to detect movementor handling (e.g., physical handling by a consumer or store employee,etc.) of the monitoring device 108 or an item affixed to monitoringdevice 108. In some example embodiments, an output of the sensor 50 maycause a monitoring device 108, that has been commissioned, to “wake-up”and enter an active state, for example, to detect ping signals andtransmit a status signal.

The alarm 42 may be configured to produce an output, typically in theform of sound energy, although light, vibration or other outputs arealso possible. As such, the alarm 42 may include an output device suchas one or more of a speaker, vibration pack, light (e.g., a lightemitting diode (LED)), or other device. The processor 28 may beconfigured to control operation of the alarm 42 based on, for example,instructions received from the server 63 or in response to definedindications from sensors, such as a tamper sensor. In this regard, basedon the current configuration of the monitoring device 108, an alarmcondition may be identified and signaled to the alarm 42. In someembodiments, the alarm condition may be associated with a predeterminedalarm signal, which the processor 28 may be configured to provide to thealarm 42 to direct an output. The alarm 42 may be configured to provideany number of different outputs in response to various alarm signalsincluding but not limited to a tone or series of tones, a ringing noise,a recorded or synthetic voice output, a solid or flashing light with anyof various predetermined flash sequences, a vibration that is eithercontinuous or pulsed with various different pulse sequences, or variousother outputs or combinations of the above and/or other outputs.

As indicated above, one or more monitoring devices may be affixed torespective products or other articles (e.g., retail products) tofacilitate monitoring of the article to which each monitoring device isaffixed. In situations where the monitoring device 108 is affixed to aproduct or retail article, the mounting device 52 may take a form factorthat is tailored for particular product packaging. As such, for example,in some situations, an adhesive, snap fastener, clip, clasp, tether,hook-and-loop fastener, magnetic fastener, pin connector, or otherfastening device enabling direct connection of the monitoring device 108to the corresponding article may be provided as the mounting device 52.One such mounting device may be configured to attach to the shaft of agolf club or similar article such as the device disclosed in U.S. Pat.No. 7,266,979 herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Othersuch mounting devices may be configured to attach to a bottle neck or abottle cap such as the devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,259,674 and7,007,523, both herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.Still other mounting devices may be configured to attach through aproduct such as an article of clothing or a blister pack such as thehard-tag disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,769 incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Each of the aforementioned patents iscommonly owned by the assignee of the present application.

The location and alarm manager 54, which may be embodied in hardware(e.g., when the processor 28 is, for example, an ASIC) or software(e.g., when for example, the processor 28 executes instructions storedon memory device 44), and may be configured to manage and direct theprocessor 28 to perform functions consistent with the variousfunctionalities of the monitoring device 108 described herein and, inparticular, the functionality described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2.The processor 28 of an example embodiment may be embodied as, include orotherwise control, the location and alarm manager 54. The location andalarm manager 54 may be implemented by any means, such as a device orcircuitry operating in accordance with firmware/software or otherwiseembodied in hardware or a combination of hardware and firmware/software(e.g., processor 28 operating under software control, the processor 28embodied as an ASIC or FPGA specifically configured to perform theoperations described herein, or a combination thereof), therebyconfiguring the device or circuitry to perform the correspondingfunctions of the location and alarm manager 54, as described herein.Thus, in examples in which software is employed, a device or circuitry(e.g., the processor 28 in one example) executing the software forms astructure associated with such means.

Further, the location and alarm manager 54 may be configured to causethe monitoring device 108 to perform the functionalities described withrespect to the monitoring device 108 in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this regard,the location and alarm manager 54 may be configured to receive a pingsignal, for example, from a gate node (e.g., gate node 104), anddetermine that the ping signal originated from the gate node. In thisregard, a gate node may include a tunable security resonator and may bepositioned within a field generated by a security gate device. Thelocation and alarm manager 54 may also be configured to direct atransmitter (e.g., radio transmitter/receiver 46) to transmit a statussignal to a network (e.g., network 30 and server 63) indicating that amonitoring device is within a field generated by the gate node.

In some example embodiments, the location and alarm manager 54 may beadditionally configured to trigger an alarm on the monitoring device(e.g., alarm 42) in response to determining that the ping signaloriginated from the gate node prior to receiving any response from thenetwork. Additionally or alternatively, the location and alarm manager54 may be configured to direct the transmitter to transmit the statussignal to the network to cause the network to issue an instruction tothe gate node to alarm the security gate device by tuning a securityresonator of the gate node. Further, according to some exampleembodiments, the location and alarm manager 54 may be alternatively oradditionally configured to determine that a device type in the pingsignal indicates that a device transmitting the ping signal is the gatenode. Further, in some example embodiments, the monitoring device 108does not include a security resonator such as an acousto-magneticsecurity device or a radio frequency security device.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example configuration of a gate node 104. A gatenode 104 may be positioned at a fixed location that is within a fieldgenerated by a gate device as described above. The gate node 104, maycomprise a processor 220, an input/output (I/O) 221, a memory device244, a radio transmitter/receiver 246, a communication interface 248, abattery 240 (e.g., to power the components of the gate node 104), asecurity resonator 242, a ping signal generator 250, and a securityresonator controller 252.

The processor 220 may act in accordance with a protocol and receiveindications from components of the gate node 104. The processor 220 maybe structurally the same or similar to the processor 20 as describedwith respect to the server 63 of FIG. 4, however configured differentlybased on, for example, the instructions provided by the memory device244 or the processor 220 hardware configuration as, for example, andASIC, to cause the gate node 104 to perform the respective functionalitydescribed herein. In some embodiments, the gate node 104 may comprise abattery 240, and, for example, a low power processor 220 may be moredesirable to conserve battery life.

The processor 220 may also include an input/output (I/O) 221, which mayinclude ports (or pins). According to some example embodiments, the I/O221 may be configured to interface with any number of external devicessuch as, electronic security devices including the security resonator242. The I/O 221 may also interface with tamper detection components,merchandising displays, equipment tags, employee identification cards,audio signal emitting devices (including alarms, speakers, piezobuzzers, etc,), microphones, lights (e.g., light emitting diodes (LEDs)including dual-color LEDs), buttons, keypads, monitors, displays thatpresent human-readable information, sensors (e.g., accelerometers,movement sensors (e.g., jiggle switch, light sensors, temperaturesensors, cameras, camera controls (e.g., configured to forward stillpictures), security gate devices, store audio systems, customercounters, lighting switches, employee communicators (e.g., headsets,handheld radios), door strike mats, jewelry case mats, RFID readers,loyalty card scanners, communications hardware (e.g., USB hardware,Ethernet hardware, RS232 hardware), and the like. As such, the I/O 221may be configured to support various functionalities that the gate node104 may be configured to perform. As an example, an I\O pin or port mayinterface with an LED to cause the LED to flash at a regular interval toprovide a visual indication of the status of the gate node 104.

The memory device 244 may include, for example, one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memories and may be structurally the same or similarto the memory device 27 of the server 63. In this regard, instructionsstored on the memory device 244 may be specifically tailored to directthe operation of the gate node 104 via the processor 220. As indicatedabove with respect to the processor 220, the gate node 104 may bebattery operated and thus a low power consuming memory device 244 may bemore desirable. The memory device 244 may be an electronic storagedevice (e.g., a computer-readable storage medium) comprising gatesconfigured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by amachine (e.g., a computing device including a processor such asprocessor 220). The memory device 244 may be configured to storeinformation, data, applications, instructions or the like, which can beorganized in any manner (including as various types of functionalityprofiles), that enable the gate node 104 to carry out various functionsin accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Forexample, the memory device 244 may be configured to buffer input datafor processing by the processor 220. Additionally or alternatively, thememory device 244 may be configured to store instructions for executionby the processor 220.

The communications interface 248 may be any means such as a device orcircuitry embodied in either hardware, or a combination of hardware andsoftware that is configured to receive and/or transmit data from/to anetwork and/or any other device or module in wire or wirelesscommunication with gate node 104. Communications interface 248 mayinclude, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supportinghardware and/or software for enabling communications with network 30 orother devices via, for example, a ping signal.

In an example embodiment, the communications interface 248 may supportcommunication via one or more different communication protocols ormethods. In some embodiments, the communications interface 248 may beconfigured to support relatively low power, which may yield a relativelysmall communication proximity area. As such, for example, a low powerand short range communication radio (e.g., radio transmitter/receiver246) may be included in the communication interface 248. In someexamples, the radio transmitter/receiver 246 may include a transmitterand corresponding receiver configured to support radio frequency (RF)communication in accordance with an IEEE (Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers) communication standards such as IEEE 802.15 orIEEE 802.15.4a, which may yield a relatively larger communicationproximity area. For example, some embodiments may employ Bluetooth,Wibree, ultra-wideband (UWB), WirelessHART, MiWi or other communicationstandards employing relatively short range wireless communication in anetwork such as a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In some cases,IEEE 802.15.4 or 4a based communication techniques, ZigBee, or other lowpower, short range communication protocols such as a proprietarytechnique based on IEEE 802.15.4 may be employed. According to someexample embodiments, the communications interface 248 may be configuredto support an Internet Protocol version 6 (IPV6) stack. Thecommunications interface 248 may also support a Route Under MAC (MediaAccess Control) (RUM) protocol or a modified RUM protocol. Regardless ofthe protocol, the communications interface 248 may be configured toutilize a network identifier or network key, for example stored in thememory device 244, such as a personal area network (PAN) identifier. Insome example embodiments, a monitoring device might not be permitted tocommunicate within the monitoring system without using a matchingnetwork identifier or key.

The gate node 104 may also include a security resonator 242. Thesecurity resonator 242 may be a tunable device that allows the resonatorto trigger an alarming function of a gate device (e.g., gate device 100)when tuned appropriately. FIG. 7 illustrates and example configurationof a security resonator 242. In this regard, the example securityresonator 242 may include a coil 260, a capacitor 264, and acontrollable switch 262. The coil 262 and the capacitor 264 may beselected to create an LC circuit (or RLC circuit with the inclusion of aselected resistor) that is configured to resonate at a frequency thatwill trigger a particular gate device when introduced to the field ofthe gate device. Through control of the controllable switch, via thelead 266 (possibly connected to the I/O 221), the security resonator 242may be tuned or de-tuned to trigger or stop triggering, respectively, agate device alarm. According to various example embodiments, thecontrollable switch may be a transistor, relay, or the like.

The gate node 104 may also include the ping signal generator 250 and thesecurity resonator controller 252. The ping signal generator 250 and thesecurity resonator controller 252, which may be embodied in hardware(e.g., when the processor 220 is, for example, an ASIC) or software(e.g., when for example, the processor 220 executes instructions storedon memory device 244), and may be configured to manage and direct theprocessor 220 to perform functions consistent with the variousfunctionalities of the gate node 104 described herein and, inparticular, the functionality described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2.The processor 220 of an example embodiment may be embodied as, includeor otherwise control, the ping signal generator 250 and the securityresonator controller 252. The ping signal generator 250 and the securityresonator controller 252 may be implemented by any means, such as adevice or circuitry operating in accordance with firmware/software orotherwise embodied in hardware or a combination of hardware andfirmware/software (e.g., processor 220 operating under software control,the processor 220 embodied as an ASIC or FPGA specifically configured toperform the operations described herein, or a combination thereof),thereby configuring the device or circuitry to perform the correspondingfunctions of the ping signal generator 250 and the security resonatorcontroller 252, as described herein. Thus, in examples in which softwareis employed, a device or circuitry (e.g., the processor 220 in oneexample) executing the software forms a structure associated with suchmeans.

The ping signal generator 250 may be configured to generate ping signalsand a corresponding ping node or gate node identifier for inclusion inthe ping signals. The ping signals may be received by monitoring devices108 and the information in the ping signals may be leveraged todetermine the location of the monitoring device 108. The ping signalgenerator 250 may be configured to provide ping signals at regularintervals.

Further, the security resonator controller 252 may be configured tocause the gate node 104 to perform the functionalities described withrespect to the gate node 104 in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this regard, thesecurity resonator controller 252 may be configured to receive aninstruction to alarm a security gate device (e.g., gate device 100), forexample, from a network (e.g., network 30) or possibly directly from amonitoring device, and in response to at least receiving the instructionto alarm the security gate device, tune a security resonator at alocation such that a field generated by the security gate deviceinteracts with the security resonator to cause the security gate deviceto trigger an alarm.

In some example embodiments, the security resonator controller 252 maybe additionally or alternatively configured to direct a transmitter(e.g., radio transmitter/receiver 246) to transmit a ping signal fordetection by a monitoring device (e.g., monitoring device 108) to permitthe monitoring device to report detection of the ping signal and causenetwork transmission of the instruction to alarm the security gatedevice. Additionally or alternatively, according to some exampleembodiments, the security resonator controller 252 may be configured todirect the transmitter to transmit the ping signal where a portion ofthe ping signal indicates that the ping signal originated from a gatenode. Further, according to some example embodiments, the securityresonator controller 252 may be configured to tune the securityresonator, where the security resonator is an acousto-magnetic securitydevice, a radio frequency security device (e.g., an antenna), a magneticsecurity device, or a combination thereof. In some example embodiments,the security resonator may include more than one resonant device, suchas, for example both a radio frequency security device and anacoustic-magnetic security device to broaden the compatibility of the ofthe gate node. In according to some example embodiments, the securityresonator controller 252 may additionally or alternately be configuredto tune the security resonator by closing a first switch to electricallyconnect an inductor with a capacitor. In according to some exampleembodiments, the security resonator controller 252 may additionally oralternately be configured to tune the security resonator to test orcalibrate the field generated by the security gate device. Additionally,or alternately, according to some example embodiments, the securityresonator controller 252 may be configured to receive the instruction toalarm the security gate device from the network, where the security gatedevice is not configured to communicate on the network.

In some example embodiments, the gate node 104 may be comprised of twoseparately operating devices. In this regard, a first device of the gatenode 104 may be a ping node 66, as described above, with a uniqueidentifier and/or device type associated with a gate node. The seconddevice of the gate node may include a processor, memory, communicationsinterface, the security resonator 242, and the security resonatorcontroller 252. In this manner, the first gate node device may providethe ping signal, but the second gate node device may control thesecurity resonator and be responsive to a gate node alarm instruction totune the security resonator.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented by variousmeans, such as hardware, firmware, processor, circuitry and/or otherdevice associated with execution of software including one or morecomputer program instructions. For example, one or more of theprocedures or activities described above may be embodied by computerprogram instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructionswhich embody the procedures or activities described above may be storedby a memory device of an apparatus employing an embodiment of thepresent invention and executed by a processor in the apparatus. As willbe appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loadedonto a computer or other programmable apparatus (e.g., hardware) toproduce a machine, such that the resulting computer or otherprogrammable apparatus embody means for implementing the functionsspecified in the corresponding procedure or activity. These computerprogram instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storagememory (as opposed to a computer-readable transmission medium such as acarrier wave or electromagnetic signal) that may direct a computer orother programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, suchthat the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce anarticle of manufacture the execution of which implements the functionspecified in the corresponding procedure or activity. The computerprogram instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to beperformed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps forimplementing the functions specified in the corresponding procedure oractivity described above.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseinventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of this disclosure. Moreover,although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describeexemplary embodiments in the context of certain exemplary combinationsof elements and/or functions, it should be appreciated that differentcombinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternativeembodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. In thisregard, for example, different combinations of elements and/or functionsthan those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may beset forth in some of this disclosure. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for purposes of limitation.

1. A method comprising: receiving a status signal indicating that amonitoring device is within a field generated by a gate node that isconfigured to control a tunable security resonator positioned within afield generated by a security gate device; and in response to receivingthe status signal, directing a transmitter to transmit a gate node alarminstruction signal for receipt by the gate node to thereby instruct thegate node to tune the tunable security resonator and thereby trigger analarm of the security gate device.
 2. The method claim 1, whereinreceiving the status signal includes receiving the status signalindicating that the monitoring device is within the field generated bythe gate node, wherein the monitoring device is affixed to an article tobe protected.
 3. The method of claim 1 further comprising, in responseto receiving the status signal: directing the transmitter to transmit amonitoring device status acknowledgement signal for receipt by themonitoring device, in response to receiving the status signal; andgenerating a log indicating receipt of the status signal.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein receiving the status signal includes receiving thestatus signal indicating that the monitoring device is within the fieldgenerated by the gate node, wherein the gate node is disposed in a fixedlocation and includes the tunable security resonator.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the status signal includes receiving thestatus signal indicating that the monitoring device is within the fieldgenerated by the gate node, wherein the monitoring device is a mobiledevice and the monitoring device does not include the tunable securityresonator.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the status signalincludes receiving the status signal, the status signal includinginformation that identifies the gate node.
 7. An apparatus comprisingprocessing circuitry, the processing circuitry being configured to atleast: receive a status signal indicating that a monitoring device iswithin a field generated by a gate node that is configured to control atunable security resonator positioned within a field generated by asecurity gate device; and direct a transmitter to transmit a gate nodealarm instruction signal for receipt by the gate node to therebyinstruct the gate node to tune the tunable security resonator to triggeran alarm of the security gate device, in response to receiving thestatus signal.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processingcircuitry configured to receive the status signal includes beingconfigured to receive the status signal indicating that the monitoringdevice is within the field generated by the gate node, wherein themonitoring device is affixed to an article to be protected.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to: direct the transmitter to transmit a monitoring devicestatus acknowledgement signal for receipt by the monitoring device, inresponse to receiving the status signal; and generate a log indicatingreceipt of the status signal.
 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein theprocessing circuitry configured to receive the status signal includesbeing configured to receive the status signal indicating that themonitoring device is within the field generated by the gate node,wherein the gate node is configured to be disposed in a fixed locationand include the tunable security resonator.
 11. The apparatus of claim7, wherein the processing circuitry configured to receive the statussignal includes being configured to receive the status signal indicatingthat the monitoring device is within the field generated by the gatenode, wherein the monitoring device is configured to be a mobile deviceand the monitoring device does not include the tunable securityresonator.
 12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processingcircuitry configured to receive the status signal includes beingconfigured to receive the status signal, the status signal includinginformation that identifies the gate node.
 13. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein the processing circuitry includes a memory device havingcomputer program instructions stored thereon, the computer programinstructions, when executed, being configured to control operation ofthe apparatus.
 14. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingcomputer program instructions stored thereon, the computer programinstructions being configured to, when executed by processing circuitry,cause an apparatus to at least: receive a status signal indicating thata monitoring device is within a field generated by a gate node that isconfigured to control a tunable security resonator positioned within afield generated by a security gate device; and direct a transmitter totransmit a gate node alarm instruction signal for receipt by the gatenode to thereby instruct the gate node to tune the tunable securityresonator to trigger an alarm of the security gate device, in responseto receiving the status signal.
 15. The medium of claim 14, wherein thecomputer program instructions configured to cause the apparatus toreceive the status signal include being configured to cause theapparatus to receive the status signal indicating that the monitoringdevice is within the field generated by the gate node, wherein themonitoring device is configured to be affixed to an article to beprotected.
 16. The medium of claim 14, wherein the computer programinstructions are further configured to cause the apparatus to: directthe transmitter to transmit a monitoring device status acknowledgementsignal for receipt by the monitoring device, in response to receivingthe status signal; and generate a log indicating receipt of the statussignal.
 17. The medium of claim 14, wherein the computer programinstructions configured to cause the apparatus to receive the statussignal include being configured to cause the apparatus to receive thestatus signal indicating that the monitoring device is within the fieldgenerated by the gate node, wherein the gate node is configured to bedisposed in a fixed location and include the tunable security resonator.18. The medium of claim 14, wherein the computer program instructionsconfigured to cause the apparatus to receive the status signal includebeing configured to cause the apparatus to receive the status signalindicating that the monitoring device is within the field generated bythe gate node, wherein the monitoring device is configured to be amobile device and the monitoring device does not include the tunablesecurity resonator.
 19. The medium of claim 14, wherein the computerprogram instructions configured to cause the apparatus to receive thestatus signal include being configured to cause the apparatus to receivethe status signal, the status signal including information thatidentifies the gate node.